Happening Today

Edmonton Headlines: Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Believe women

Written by Jeff Samsonow

As the repercussions of the “me too” campaign continue to hit Hollywood and major arts centres, Edmonton has another shockwave of its own this week. Downtown music venue, bar and restaurant The Needle Vinyl Tavern is facing calls to do something about sexual harassment.

We are heartbroken to hear about the allegations of mistreatment of the staff at The Needle Vinyl Tavern in Edmonton. We cannot in good conscience perform there tonight and will be relocating to @thebuckonwhyte at 10439 Whyte Ave.

And in somewhat related arts news, the Edmonton Public Library has happened to book another guest embroiled in controversy before an appearance. This time it’s George Takei, who is facing his own accusations of sexual assault.

And, of course, the arts are nowhere near the only industry where women have long been harassed, silenced and pushed out. This is systemic and societal. As owners of The Needle are surely learning today, saying you’ll do something to change for the better and actually doing something are very different things, and we aren’t seeing enough of the latter just yet.

For all of us, the provincial government is going to be introducing changes to Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, which will classify workplace harassment and abuse as a job hazard. Then, when someone needs to take sick days or a leave of absence related to their emotional or mental health, it is reported to the Alberta government as a workplace injury. It will be more difficult for employers with toxic work environments to get away with things for so long.

Now that the football team’s season is over, the most important decision of the off-season is whether many Inuit and Indigenous voices will be heard and the CFL club will change its name. In a city that claims it is for reconciliation and making it awkward for racists, let’s see if we’re just saying we’re changing or if we actually are making change.

After being cut down because of safety reasons, Garneau’s Tree lives on thanks to the salvaging of some of its wood.

Artist Jason Carter is receiving a distinguished alumni award at MacEwan’s fall convocation (Tuesday). Carter’s art can be found on the southern portion of the Capital Line (along 111 Street) and the Edmonton and Calgary airports (not to mention other installations and galleries).

This section is a little bit of everything, with some stories that speak to how Edmonton continues to grow.

A major development proposed for the new Valley Line LRT has a lot of questions and pushback. So much so, the public hearing into the proposal has been delayed, and now extended to allow more time for people to speak. This Holyrood project holds a lot of potential next steps for other transit-oriented developments, so the outcome will be watched by many.

Zoning changes have allowed Edmonton distillery Strathcona Spirits – perhaps the tiniest in North America – to open its small space to visitors. Changes around distilling and brewing are allowing more businesses to open in more parts of the city.